Thescreescore – In a monumental leap from viral internet sensation to big-screen horror, A24 is poised to unleash Backrooms, the highly anticipated feature film adaptation of Kane Parsons’ unsettling web series. This ambitious project, marking Parsons’ directorial debut, involved the construction of an astounding 30,000 square feet of physical sets, a scale so immense that crew members reportedly found themselves disoriented within its labyrinthine confines. This tangible manifestation of the "strange" world Parsons first conjured online promises an immersive and deeply unnerving cinematic experience.
Originating from a cryptic 2019 4chan post and subsequently expanded into Parsons’ wildly popular YouTube series starting in 2022, Backrooms delves into the chilling concept of liminal spaces. The film centers on Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a furniture store proprietor who stumbles upon an inexplicably vast, endless dimension beneath his shop. As Clark navigates this bizarre reality, his therapist (Renate Reinsve) embarks on her own investigation into his claims. With a script penned by Will Soodik and a formidable production team including genre titans James Wan and Shawn Levy, Parsons has been afforded the resources to translate his unique vision with unprecedented scope.
Parsons, who initially crafted his digital "Backrooms" using 3D software like Blender and Adobe After Effects, now commands a production that built a physical manifestation of his abstract world. Despite the expanded budget and all-star cast, the director hints at the film’s inherently peculiar nature. "It’s a weird film. There’s a lot of strange things," Parsons teased, acknowledging that some initial ideas had to be refined for the final cut. He emphasizes the meticulous design of this alternate reality, which he refers to as "The Complex." "There’s a very strict logic to the way this place builds itself, the way it works, what can happen, what can’t, event-wise and architecturally," he explained, suggesting that keen observers will discern architectural patterns that subtly weave narrative threads, rewarding multiple viewings.
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The film’s aesthetic remains faithful to the iconic, stripped-down look that defined the original viral phenomenon—predominantly featuring the stark, yellow-wallpapered halls and rooms. While glimpses of other "levels," such as a poolroom, align with Parsons’ restrained vision, they maintain the unsettling familiarity rather than veering into the wilder fan-imagined iterations. Parsons draws inspiration not only from the original Wisconsin furniture store photo that sparked the 4chan post but also from the profound psychological impact of sensory deprivation. He likens the Backrooms experience to the mind’s desperate search for stimulation in an empty environment, where it begins to ascribe profound meaning to mere noise, lowering its threshold for what it perceives as reality.
This psychological depth underpins the film’s horror strategy. Much like his original web series, which leveraged limited resources to create dread through quiet, strangely familiar yet "off" locations and disturbing soundscapes, the Backrooms movie aims to exploit the fear of what isn’t explicitly there, as much as what is. This nuanced approach promises a horror experience that is both memorable and uniquely suited for the big screen.
Attendees at CCXP were treated to an exclusive clip, revealing Clark’s unsettling entry into The Complex. The footage shows him relaxing in his furniture store after hours when his television abruptly switches from a commercial to a security camera-like feed of a yellow hallway. His subsequent investigation into a power glitch in the basement culminates in him "nocliping" out of reality and into the desolate expanse of the Backrooms. Joining Ejiofor and Reinsve, the cast is rounded out by Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Mark Duplass. A24 is set to transport audiences into this architectural nightmare when Backrooms arrives in theaters on May 29, 2026.
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